The Maco Light

Author: Rhett Barnard

Near the coastal areas of North Carolina, nestled in swampland, is the small town of Maco. In this quaint little town lies a legend, one of tragedy and searching from beyond the grave. That is the legend of the Maco light. In the years after the Civil War, the railroad was king. Joe Baldwin, a flagman for the trains out of Maco Depot Station, was asleep in the back of the caboose. He was awoken by a loud noise and a violent shake. The caboose had become unhinged. 

Joe ran to the back to the train to alert another train, which was traveling nearly top speed towards the caboose. Unfortunately, the conductor didn’t see Joe through the mist, and hit the caboose at full speed. He was decapitated, and after much searching for his head with no luck, he was buried without it. After his death, many sightings of a mysterious light were reported. It was said to be Joe with his lantern, looking for his head. Many people, including President Grover Cleveland, claimed to see this light. That is until 1977, when the railroad was torn up. The sightings stopped after this. The legend of Joe Baldwin has inspired legends, skeptics, even videos about the subject. 

The story of Joe Baldwin is a tragic one. It is said that after his death, he was viewed as a hero for giving his life trying to prevent a collision. Of course, as with most legends, the lines between what really happened and what people perceived became blurred. In this particular legend, even details about the ghost became skewed. There are variations of this story that say Joe’s ghost can be seen carrying a two light, one red and one green, to warn an oncoming train. This is a stark contrast to the most widely believed accounts of him carrying one lantern in search of his severed head. 

In a short documentary, those who claim to see it claimed that the light began to slowly recede as they moved closer. The legend, however, states that the light will suddenly disappear upon looking at it for more than a few seconds. As the years go by, and the legend diminishes, the crazy claims are sure to outweigh the long standing legend.

Though there will always be skeptics, the legend of the Maco Light will live on in the hearts of the people of Maco. The light is not predicted to ever be seen again, due to the railroad being pulled up. There are, however, those who remain loyal to the legend of Joe Baldwin. With the lack of reported sightings, it is a very large possibility that this legend may disappear in areas far from this sight. But this small town will surely never forget. 

Works Cited:

Steelman, Ben. “THE MACO LIGHT | BRUNSWICK'S ‘TRUE' GHOST STORY.” Star News. 10 October, 2008. Web. 14 October, 2013.

“The Maco Light.” Northcarolinaghosts.com. N.p. n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.

Will Davis. “The Maco Light ( & The Legend of Joe Baldwin)” Yotube.com. Web. 14 October, 2013.

Links for Further Research

The Maco Light

darkartsmedia.com/Maco_Light.html

Leads to a multimedia presentation on the Maco Light.

The Light at Maco Station

www.ibiblio.org/ghosts/maco.html

Gives detailed description on the Maco Light and leads to an interactive sight where multimedia can be viewd.

History of the Maco Light

www.thenbm.com/macolight.htm

Gives detailed description of the legend along with credible real life sources that can be found today.

The Maco Light

Author: Solomon Monroe

This haunted horror story takes place on the Atlantic Coast line railroad at a station which was known as Farmers Turnout. The station was later renamed and is now known as the Maco Station, a few miles west of Wilmington North Carolina. The Maco Light is one of North Carolina's great ghost stories. For over a century, spooky and mysterious lights were observed and even photographed appearing up and down along the railroad tracks. Like any other mysterious light, the light would disappear whenever anyone approached it.

 Headless Joe Baldwin searching for his head

The story took place in late 1867. Joe Baldwin was sleeping in the last train cart, which is known as the caboose. Then he was awakened by a loud and rough jerk. He jumped up quickly knowing that the cart had detached from the train. He also knew that the train which he was on was not the only train schedule to be on the tracks at the time.

            Joe rushed and grabbed a warning light. He ran to the back of the detached cart and waved it back in forth hoping that the oncoming train would see it and stop. It was too late. The speeding locomotive ran full speed into the cart and Joe Baldwin was decapitated. During the accident, his head was thrown into a nearby swamp by the force. It was never found and Joe was buried a week later headless.

            After that night, lights have been seen moving up and down the track around the Maco Station area. Most of the time it was one light, but there were even reports of two. People say that it's the ghost of Joe Baldwin, still searching for his missing head. Later on, the tracks along the route were pulled up in 1977.  Ever since they were pulled up, the lights have never been seen again.

            Stories from the coast stated, “The Maco Light is too well documented and has been too often seen to be dismissed as mere superstition. But I think that what was seen around Maco was a natural, not supernatural, phenomenon.” It is believed that the lights were simply a tremendous electrical charge from earthquakes that give off globular balls of light. I guess the world will never know.

Works Cited:

"The Maco Light| North Carolina Ghost Stories and Legends." The Maco Light| North Carolina Ghost Stories and Legends. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.northcarolinaghosts.com/coast/macolight.php>.

Further information.

http://www.darkartsmedia.com/Maco_Lights.com.html 

Display video of the accident.

http://www.thenbm.com/macolight.html 

Essay of the Joe Baldwin legend.

http://www.hauntednc.com/legends_maco.htm 

North Carolina horror stories.